THE LORD GOD'S PLUMBLINE

God plumbline is completely different from the physical one used on earth because it is based on the spiritual. God measures people according to His standard of righteousness and truth. He wants His people to be absolutely righteous and to gain back His love and trust. The earthly plumbline is used to measure buildings and things which are built upright on earth.

What is a plumbline?

It is a cord by which a plumb (weight, usually of lead, attached to a line used to test perpendicularity). This is used by a mason or carpenter when they build a house or an object. God had set a plumbline for His people and He spoke to Amos the prophet in the Old Testament. Those who are obedient to His commandments would find the answers to questions but those who are reluctant to follow God will not see clearly the message He has for mankind.

God spoke to Amos, and it was for Israel once and for all. God would not repeat it again.

Amos 7:7-8

• Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.
• And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more.

WRITTEN IN STONE

These comandments are guidelines on how to follow God's commands about the plumbline. They are contingent on our faith in Jesus.

The Ten Commandments were written by the finger of God and given to the Israelites in Mount Sinai after they left their bondage in the land of Egypt. The Israelites were given the 10 commandments written in stone. The importance of this is that after Christians accept Christ, they must keep the commandments so they would not depart from the standard of the plumbline. The first four commandments are to love God and the last six are to love our fellow men thus fulfilling the commandment to love.

When we love God, we worship Him only and not follow idols or make graven images. We should not profane God's name and remember the Sabbath to respect His words. To love our neighbours as ourselves, we should respect their rights and not steal, murder, bear false witness nor covet their wives nor property. Our behaviour should be to treat them as we would want others to treat us.

Exodus 31:17-18

• It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
• And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

Deuteronomy 9:10

• And the Lord delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God:

Isaiah 28:16-18

• Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
• Judgment also will I lay the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
• And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

In the hiistory of the Israelites, God allowed the Assyrians to lay seige on Israel (701 B.C.) and for Judah to be captured by the Babylonians (586 B.C.). Isaiah prophesied for more than 40 years during great moral and political unrest. God answered Hezekiah and delivered Judah from Assyrian destruction. Years later and Judah did not repent and God allowed her to be exiled and it was 70 years later when the Persian King Cyrus allowed a remnant of the Israelites to return to desolate Israel.

Isaiah 1:4-5

• Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
• Why should ye be stricken any more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

Isaiah 1:1-21

• How is the faithful city become an harlot! It was full of judgment; righteousnes lodged in it; but now murderers.

The second prophet God spoke to was Jeremiah.

JEREMIAH 1:16

• And I will utter my judgment against them touching all their wickedness who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.

Jeremiah 2:13

• For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

For a building to stand upright and erect, the builder must follow the plumbline. The Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy is a good example of not following the correct procedure. The building should be built on solid foundation instead of "weak, unstable subsoil."

Wikipedia

Construction of the tower occurred in three stages across 344 years. Work on the ground floor of the white marble campanile began on August 14, 1173, during a period of military success and prosperity. This ground floor is a blind arcade articulated by engaged columns with classical Corinthian capitals. The tower began to sink after construction had progressed to the second floor in 1178. This was due to a mere three-metre foundation, set in weak, unstable subsoil, a design that was flawed from the beginning . Construction was subsequently halted for almost a century, because the Republic of Pisa was almost continually engaged in battles with Genoa, Lucca, and Florence. This allowed time for the underlying soil to settle. Otherwise, the tower would almost certainly have toppled.

Any church or organization without the right foundation would be like the Tower of Pisa. The Leaning Tower has to reinforced every year and as the years go by, start to lean more and more.

I was glad that I had the opportunity to visit Pisa on two occasions. However, I never attempted to climb the tower, but just watch it from a distance in case it crashed to the ground. I did not see any crowd lining up to visit the tower. Maybe the authorities have put a stop from climbing the tower.

God is merciful and in the last days, He will allow Israel and the nations to rebuild so they can abide by God's plumbline. Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her courts with righteousness. In punishing Israel for past sins, Israel was razed to the ground and did not exist for nearly 2000 years.

Isaiah 1:27

• Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.

Isaiah 2:2-3

• And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord' house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, in the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Grace Like Rain - Plumbline.mpg - YouTube

► 5:13► 5:13www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSXr8s4Iv8oMay 16, 2011 - Uploaded by Sam WaltonYou need Adobe Flash Player to watch this video. .... Grace Like Rain by Plumbline (Lyrics On Screen) by Zak ...